WASHINGTON – With just hours to spare before a midnight deadline, Congress passed and sent to President Barack Obama a four-year extension of three critical terrorism-fighting powers, including powers to conduct roving wiretaps and examine business records in pursuit of terrorists.

A House vote on the bill followed rapidly after the Senate approved it. Both votes were by a wide margin and came after the rejection of efforts to change the legislation by conservatives and liberals who contended that government use of the terrorism-hunting powers infringed on personal liberties.

The roving wiretap and business record provisions were part of the USA Patriot Act passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The third, allowing surveillance of non-American “lone-wolf” suspects, was included in a 2004 intelligence law.

Afghanistan blast kills 7 U.S. soldiers

KABUL, Afghanistan – Nine NATO service members were killed Thursday in Afghanistan, including seven U.S. troops among the eight who died when a powerful bomb exploded in a field where they were patrolling on foot, officials said.

Two Afghan policemen also died and two others were wounded in the explosion in the mountainous Shorabak district of Kandahar province, 12 miles from the Pakistan border, said Gen. Abdul Raziq, chief of the Afghan border police in the province. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast.

The international military coalition reported that one additional NATO service member was killed Thursday when a helicopter crashed in the east.

Schultz apologized for the comment on his TV program, “The Ed Show,” on Wednesday night, saying he had used “vile and inappropriate language” in referring to Ingraham. “I am deeply sorry, and I apologize,” he said. “It was wrong, uncalled for, and I recognize the severity of what I said. I apologize to you, Laura, and ask for your forgiveness.”

Schultz’s slur was a response to Ingraham’s criticism of President Barack Obama’s trip to Ireland. Ingraham had noted that Obama was touring Ireland while devastating tornadoes hit the U.S.

Romney plans to join GOP race next week

Mitt Romney said Thursday he planned to formally join the GOP race for president during an appearance next week in New Hampshire, a state central to his White House strategy.

“Making it official next week at the Scamman Farm in New Hampshire,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

The former Massachusetts governor has been plotting a comeback since losing the GOP presidential nomination to Sen. John McCain in 2008. His advisers see New Hampshire as the launching pad for a presidential bid and they tentatively are watching Iowa.

Santorum to make his 2012 bid official

WASHINGTON – Former Sen. Rick Santorum plans to formally enter the GOP presidential race next month, starting his bid in the western Pennsylvania coal fields where his immigrant grandfather once worked, advisers said Thursday.

On his Facebook page, Santorum said he will announce his next steps on June 6 and then schedule visits to the early nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Advisers confirmed that he was running, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make the announcement official before Santorum does.

Fighting spreads

in Yemeni capital

SANAA, Yemen – Fighting spilled across Yemen’s capital and frightened residents fled or cowered in basements Thursday as a powerful militia alliance warned embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh to either step down or face civil war. At least 28 people were killed as the four-day death toll neared 110.

The bold ultimatum reflected the growing confidence among the opposition forces – led the Yemen’s largest tribe – that they could be gaining the upper hand against Saleh’s regime with the uprising shifting from near daily street protests to fast-moving urban combat.

But Saleh also has shown he will not go easily. He has managed to ride out more than three months of anti-government demonstrations, defections of military commanders and pressure from Arab neighbors and Western powers to leave office.

N.J. plans to quit local climate pact

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey will withdraw from a 10-state regional greenhouse gas reduction program by the end of the year, Republican Gov. Chris Christie announced Thursday, saying it hasn’t worked to combat global warming.

The decision marks a turnaround for a highly industrialized state that was an early backer of reducing greenhouse gas pollution – credentials that helped promote the leader of its environmental efforts to head the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

WASHINGTON – The CIA will get the opportunity to further search the compound in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden lived before he was killed by Navy SEALs, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Thursday. The CIA will look for fingerprints and other clues.

It’s part of confidence-building measures to restore trust between the U.S. and Pakistani intelligence agencies. Pakistan agreed to the search after a meeting between Pakistani intelligence chief Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha and CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell last week in Islamabad, a Pakistani official said.

Relations between the two spy agencies were already fractious before the May 2 bin Laden raid, which came after the arrest and detention of CIA security contractor Raymond Davis in January. Davis had shot and killed two Pakistanis he said were trying to rob him. The CIA initially denied Davis was its employee, saying he was a diplomat.

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